16 GB RAM as the minimum at last: Windows requires faster NPU and more RAM for "AI PCs"

According to the latest info from TrendForce, Microsoft has specified 16 GB RAM as the minimum requirement for "AI PCs", so if a laptop manufacturer plans to advertise a computer or laptop with the AI features of Windows, it must be equipped with at least 16 GB RAM. TrendForce assumes that this step will lead to a significantly higher demand for DRAM, which in turn means that fewer devices with only 8 GB RAM will be offered.

However, it is likely to be a few months before these requirements come into force, as Microsoft also requires AI performance of at least 40 TOPS: neither Intel's Meteor Lake (34 TOPS) nor AMD's Ryzen 8040 (39 TOPS) can meet this requirement. Apart from laptops with a dedicated graphics chip, notebooks with the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (45 TOPS) are currently the only ones that meet this requirement. The AMD Ryzen 8050 "Strix Point" and Intel Core Ultra 200 "Lunar Lake" are expected to be among the new mass market processors for ultrabooks that will be released in the second half of 2024 and will also meet Microsoft's requirements.

The fact that Microsoft sets the limit at 40 TOPS could give Qualcomm an important marketing advantage, as the first "Windows AI Ultrabooks" will be equipped with the Snapdragon X Elite. With notebooks from Dell, Lenovo, Asus, Acer and HP, numerous products based on Qualcomm's fastest laptop processor to date are expected to come onto the market this summer. By this time, it should be at last clear whether the chip manufacturer can finally hold its own against Intel and AMD.